107 Senators Call On The Federal Government To Implement Resolutions Of The Confrence

On Jun 16, 2017

Share

107 Senators have moved a motion titled “The Need for National Unity and Peaceful Co-existence in Nigeria,” imploring the Federal Government to look into and implement the report of the 2014 Confab.

The senators called for the resolutions made in the document to be seen as a tool to help douse the tension across the country.

The motion was moved be Senator Adamu Aliero (Kebbi-Central) who incidentally chaired the Conference Committee on Public Finance and Revenue.

Also Read: The North Will Vote Buhari Even If He Is On A Wheelchair – Arewa Chieftain

He said:

We have to live together and the corporate existence of this country cannot be negotiated. Nigeria must remain one indivisible and indissoluble entity. I agree that there are problems; there are challenges and those challenges should be addressed

And that was why in 2014 the then president, Goodluck Jonathan, decided to convoke what was called a National Conference and it was a conference where all the ethnic nationalities, states and geopolitical zones were represented.

All the issues affecting the unity and stability of this country were thoroughly discussed under the leadership of Justice Idris Kutigi (retd) and co-chaired by Bolaji Akinyemi. A lot of recommendations were made to address these challenges.

I will recommend that the Senate should ask for those recommendations to be tabled before the National Assembly because a lot of recommendations on all the agitations in all the geopolitical zones were addressed. I don’t know why we are not asking for those recommendations to be brought to us. They should be implemented where necessary

Supporting the motion, Jonah Jang (Plateau-North), said he was one of those who fought in the civil war to keep Nigeria united.

The former governor of Plateau State reminded his colleagues that no nation has fought two civil wars and survived, and Nigeria would not be a different case.

The deputy president of the Senate, Ike Ekweremadu, in his remarks, explained that the report was sent to the Seventh National Assembly towards the close of the legislature, the reason why it was dropped.

Other senators who contributed to the debate took turn to shed light on some of the challenges facing the nation. According to some of the lawmakers, the causes of regional unrest in the country were mainly due to the socio-political and economic challenges.

They also called for the application of law against persons and groups making offensive statements, which they believe could worsen the conflicts in the country, while others called for the outright restructuring of the federal system of the country.

Also Read: Top 5 Possible Candidates To Replace Buhari In 2019

The lawmakers stated that the unity of the nation was not negotiable and further encouraged Nigerians to “live together in unity and harmony as one indivisible, indissoluble sovereign nation under God”.

The 494-member 2014 confab, which was convoked by the administration of President Goodluck Jonathan, came out with far reaching recommendations on the polity, economy and other areas of the nation’s life.

Jonathan subsequently set up a seven-member committee headed by the then attorney general to “advise government on all matters necessary for the effective implementation of the Report.”

The administration also forwarded the report to the National Assembly for further action but the legislature could not take action on it before its tenure ended in June 2015.